christmas

As we approach Christmas many families will be posting their grinning faces all over social media beaming out love and happiness accompanied with Christmas trees and festive decorations; but is a sad truth lurking just outside of the picture frame?

The Salvation Army in Canada has managed to harness the power of new technology for an interactive, subtle yet hard hitting expose campaign of the hidden realities of modern poverty in order to encourage donations in the lead up to what is arguably the most expensive time in a families’ calendar. Using Facebook’s new 360 photos these typical greeting card picture perfect families, seemingly ready for Christmas, can be explored further by users to show a different perspective. Just out of the original shot, yuletide festivities melt away into unfiltered impoverished homes with one video clip focussing on a single mother crying over mounting unpayable bills. All the locations used in the campaign are not sets but actually homes of real Canadians trying to get by in an increasingly expensive and technological world. Grey Toronto president Darlene Remlinger has said that as many as one in ten people in Canada are struggling to make ends meet.

The effectiveness of this campaign stems from its interactivity as it shocks and pulls at the heart and purse strings of its viewers as the stark nature of each picture’s periphery is revealed. The slogan “poverty isn’t always easy to see” fits perfectly with the content, as the millennial audience it is aimed at are already aware of the concepts of how appearances on the internet are not always a true reflection of reality. The timing of this campaign could not be better as families across the world empathise with those seen in the images as they too start their shopping trips; this shareable campaign will provoke many to look at what they have and decide to help those hidden less fortunate. Hopefully their Christmases will be that little bit more joyful this year.

Clocking up 3m views on YouTube already, the Spanish lottery has produced a real tear-jerker in the form of its Christmas advert this year, set to give the British campaigns a run for their money yet again.

Playing on the heartstrings of the world yet again, the 2016 advert tells the story of Carmina, a retired teacher, who mistakes the previous year’s broadcast of the Christmas Lottery (El Gordo, held every year on the 22nd December), for the present and believes she is holding the winning ticket. However, rather than disappoint the jubilant grandmother, the people of Villaviciosa, a town on the Eastern coastline of Spain, gather and celebrate her ‘victory’.

The Christmas lottery has been embedded in Spanish society since the 19th century, and the live broadcast of the event lasts several hours with students from Madrid’s San Difenso School singing the winning numbers out.

In recent years, La Lotería’s big-budget campaigns have proved just as important as the event itself , after a very successful 2015 hit which featured Justino, the security guard who worked lonely night shifts in a mannequin factory, and the 2014 sentimental story of Manu, who hadn’t bought a share in the sweepstake at his local bar.

John Lewis released their long and hotly anticipated Christmas campaign today. In an attempt to put smiles on our faces this Christmas, the advert tells the story of Buster the boxer dog who is determined to beat six year old Bridget at enjoying her Christmas gift of a trampoline. The video also features a fox, badger and a squirrel who all have a go on the toy whilst Buster looks on from the window.

The story of Buster does not stop there- the campaign has been extended to Snapchat, Twitter and VR for the first time. Shoppers at the John Lewis Oxford Street flagship store can virtually bounce with Buster and the other animals using the Oculus Rift headset, triggering the animal bounces with their arms.

Additionally, Snapchat users will be delighted to hear that John Lewis have sponsored a Buster filter, which is available until midnight tonight (10th November), or in any John Lewis store thereafter. The retailer will also be one of the first British brands to experiment with Twitter stickers, allowing users to customise their photos with images of Buster and the other wildlife.

If you haven’t already seen the advert, you can watch it here:

Percy Pigs gifted with Santa hats

Marks and Spencer have gone the extra mile with their festive food this year, giving their Percy Pigs a makeover and (for the first time ever) providing them with Santa hats.

For a very merry Percy-mas, the bags are available now to buy at £1.50 – or two for £2.50!

Royal Mail Festive Stamps

The Royal Mail have released six festive designs ahead of Christmas featuring a snowman, a Christmas pudding, Christmas tree, lantern, stocking and the famous red-breasted robin which has become synonymous with the Royal Mail. The link dates back to the 19th century, when postmen sported red coats, and therefore were known as “red breasts”.

The return of seasonal Starbucks cups

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, when Starbucks release their latest edition of red Christmas cups. This year comes with a twist, as Starbucks have turned to their customers to design their latest cups.

Snowflakes, Santa and reindeer all make appearances in the 13 chosen designs, which hail from six different countries including the USA, Canada, UAE, Indonesia, Russia and South Korea.

Greggs launched their Christmas menu on Tuesday, creating new festive additions to their much loved sausage rolls and pasties. The menu features a festive bake, made from chicken breast, sage and onion stuffing and sweetcure bacon in a creamy cranberry and sage sauce, wrapped in a golden puff pastry with a crunchy crumb topping.

There is also a version of the sausage roll available for Christmas – a turkey, bacon and cranberry roll, which (as an added bonus) also only contains 200 calories!

If these things don’t signal Christmas to you, we don’t know what will!

For the festive season, Coca Cola have created a special treat for Coca Cola lovers in Japan. The drink brand announced that the new ‘Ribbon Bottle’ would be released for their Christmas campaign, and will be available from today.

The label has a small pull on the inside, so that once you peel one side away, you can pull the tab for the bottle label to transform itself into a neat festive bow. To see these bottle labels in action, watch the video below:

The announcement forms part of the larger Coca Cola Christmas ‘Give a Surprise’ campaign in Japan. It will begin on 21 November, and the company will offer a pair of warm, fuzzy socks to customers who buy either four small bottles or two larger bottles. Similarly, from the 5 December, Coca Cola Japan will give one of five ‘crystal ornaments’ to customers who buy any one-litre or two-litre bottles, which come in designs such as a snowman, Santa Claus, and a decorated Christmas tree.

As Halloween ends and Christmas descends rapidly upon us, it seems only right that Burberry kick off the festive season with their latest star-studded campaign. The British heritage brand have released a 3-minute film trailer entitled ‘The Tale of Thomas Burberry’, celebrating the life of the Burberry founder and starring a host of celebrities including Sienna Miller, Lily James, Domhnall Gleeson and Dominic West.

“This Christmas, as we celebrate our 160th anniversary we wanted to tell the story of Thomas Burberry – pioneer, inventor, innovator, and the man behind the iconic trench coat – in our own words,” said Burberry chief creative and chief executive officer, Christopher Bailey. ‘The film we have made is a brief glimpse inspired by his full and extraordinary life, which threaded its way through the history of the twentieth century in all its tumultuous highs and lows.’

Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson takes the lead role, with Sienna Miller playing his first fictional love. The film focuses particularly on the role Burberry played in creating ground-breaking fabrics which would be used by the military, in aviation and by Arctic explorers, particularly revered for their waterproof yet comfortable qualities.

The short was written by Academy Award-nominated Matt Charman and directed by Academy Award-winning Asif Kapadia. Watch the video for yourself below: